Photo: American Cadence Records

The new album by witty lyricist Kiernan McMullan is a truly emotional release for the indie songwriter. Aptly named “Baggage,” McMullan’s 10 new songs all reflect on the singer’s past and present stress, struggles and shortcomings.

McMullan, named one of 2016’s “12 Bands You Need To Know” by “Alternative Press Magazine,” has traveled the world sharing the stage for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Mat Kearney, Dave Mason and many more. The Nashville singer-songwriter guitar style is easiest to compare to Vance Joy, though more emotional and unique in McMullan’s case. His newest album is without a doubt the realest and most scintillating of his four records which really focuses on his life struggles.

The album opens with McMullan’s most recent single, “What’s For You (Won’t Go Past You).”  This doesn’t say much, but the lead song is easily the most upbeat on the album, reminding listeners that through life’s tantalizing brawls everything will come together despite not being as easy as it may seem.

“Want:Need,” the album’s fourth song, truly highlights some of McMullan’s stumbles. Seductive guitar fills and chord progressions in this song really highlight the talent and capabilities of the musician. I particularly enjoy the lines “Right now I thought I’d be exactly where I wanted but I don’t remember what I wanted it for,” and “Do you want? Do you need? Can’t have everything.” If there is one song on the record to check out, it is without a doubt this one.

Other songs to highlight include “Did I Leave Too Soon,” “Another Heart to Break” and “I Stayed the Same,” which are all about heartbreak, loss and grappling with emotions all too familiar to the human heart. “Did I Leave Too Soon,” is less about love and more about leaving behind the things you didn’t know you love. I like the style of the chord progression during the first two verses and although this song may not be as lyrically thoughtful as the rest of the album, it is still a soothing song about change.

“Another Heart to Break” is one of the most off-putting songs on the album. It’s perfect imagery couples with a dark tone to create a heart-shattering love song about breaking hearts that are “perfect, wholesome and worth it.”

“I Stayed the Same” was the first single McMullan released from this album back in spring of 2016. It is a heart-wrenching melody about love, change and heartbreak. This song in particular has a gloomy piano piece to pair with the lonely guitar riffs and distressing harmonies in the second chorus. It’s a perfect anthem of heartbreak.

“Baggage,” released April 7, is a wonderfully crafted piece and easily McMullan’s best album to date. While McMullan has told me he doesn’t have plans to tour this album right now, his live performance is also worth checking out. McMullan’s live rendition of his song “Catch My Breath” is one of the most unusual performances I’ve ever seen; you can catch a version of it on OurVinyl’s YouTube channel. Much like his live performance, McMullan’s newest album is a hit. “Baggage” is a wonderfully crafted collection of brilliant lyrics and melodies to empathize with the struggling soul.

After releasing a follow up album to their 2014 smash hit, “The Balcony,” Catfish and the Bottlemen began to tour their newest release, “The Ride.” The band took the time to chat with The Triangle about their upcoming show at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory Oct. 21.

The Triangle: We covered your band when you played the Radio 104.5 Birthday Show, do you think your Oct. 21 show will be similar to that one, or will it be completely different now that you’re headlining?

Johnny “Bondy” Bond (Lead Guitar, Catfish and the Bottlemen): We’ve got two albums to be picking the setlist from, so we can mix things up each night unlike that 30 minute set. We’re able to get lost in it, and sweaty. It’s definitely going to be a step up from that show.

Ryan Evan “Van” McCann (Lead Singer, Catfish and the Bottlemen): The set’s much bigger, when you get a couple of songs in, you’re only getting warmed at the radio station shows, you know? You don’t want to come off stage and we’re still bouncing and we still want to play. We love getting these hour-and-a-half headline shows because you get to get really stuck into it and you get to the point where your legs are about to give up and you’ve got five songs left to play. You go into that overdrive mode, you know, and you start becoming your younger self when you first started playing. There wasn’t a roof when you saw us was there?

TT: No, there was a roof.

Van: Oh there was? Yeah, but it wasn’t like a closed roof. I always find it’s good when there are walls that are able to pin people back, I like it when you watch a band and you can feel the sound pin you back to the walls. We always try to do that when we get in those venues. We’ll play outside at those festivals and we’ll try to make the sound go as far back as we can, but in those venues, it’s all about pinning people to that back wall, overwhelming people with that loud noise.

TT: You guys bring a lot of emotion and a lot of energy into your performance and it comes off as really personal. Is it hard to go out in front of a live crowd and be that emotional?

Van: I love it. I love playing live. I live for it. I wake up every day waiting for my next fix to play live. There’s nothing like it. I find it hard to sleep at night because im always full of hype, I’m always full of energy and I find it much harder to sleep at night after going on stage. You’re just buzzing to play again especially when you’ve just come off stage. It’s hard to find what to do with yourself when you’ve just heard a couple thousand people sing a song you wrote in a tiny little practice room with the boys. Seeing all these people sing your songs across different countries. When we go to Japan, these people don’t speak our language and they can sing all the lyrics word for word. It’s a bit like, woah what’s going on and I don’t feel nerves going on, I just feel like I’ve been waiting for this, it’s just like a good meal or something. You can’t buy that feeling. You can’t go into a dispensary and buy that type of thing, you can’t drink it. It’s just an atmosphere that takes over you, it’s great. When we play, we love it. Just like a good soccer player would be, or a good american football player would be, once you get in your groove, you don’t feel like you’re getting into it you just feel alive.

TT: Is that how you felt when you were touring your first album?

Van: Yeah, actually, we were just talking about that the other day. When we walk on stage now, it still feels exactly the same as when we’d walk on stage for 20 or 30 people. I just can’t wait to sing those lyrics, I can’t wait to hear Bondy play those parts. It brings a huge excitement, I don’t know why.

TT: Do you mind talking about what goes into putting together a live show?

Van: Yeah, there’s always set changes and stuff like that. I guess it’s a good problem to have, because we’re growing. Like, when we play those festival shows, if you have to pick a 30 minute set, you can pick six or seven out of 22. A lot of stuff goes into the show. We’ve got a massive team built up around our band. Our guitar [technician] and PA is my best friend from school, who we’ve all been best mates with since we were kids and our bass [technician] is my cousin,\ and we grew up together. We’re like brothers. Our tour manager is a friend of Bondy’s and ours from when we were younger. He used to look after one of our favorite bands, Little Comets. We’ve got this big crew of people who built this massive show around our ideas and our touring scheme around our ideas but there’s a lot of due credit for our team and everyone’s gunning towards making Catfish and the Bottlemen a great live circus that people want to see live. Our crew is built up of people who we love, our best mates, and our family. It’s a real laugh you know, going around the world with people you love and it’s not necessarily hired help, it’s like your best mates. They don’t get enough credit.

TT: For anyone who hasn’t heard of you, why should they come check you out on tour?

Bondy: I don’t know, I would hope that whether they know the songs or not, I would go watch the band even if the music isn’t necessarily for you. If you can see someone who is genuinely enjoying themselves, genuinely passionate about it, it becomes infectious and you want to enjoy and you feel good watching that person. Even if you don’t like it, i don’t think you couldn’t be at least partly enthralled it and enjoy it.

Van: People who come to see us, they do it because they’re gonna rave their chops off. The music makes you move, you’re going to want to move when you hear it! Come try not to move! Try not to rave.

Photo: Ben Wolbransky, The Triangle

The Fillmore is one of Philadelphia’s newest concert venues and it is arguably one of the nicest. The four chandeliers that hang above the dance floor turn the venue into a ballroom, the pseudo-VIP section gives fans a feeling of importance and the venue has close to a dozen bars. Tons of talent come in and out of this new venue, some of the most recent being Ra Ra Riot and Young the Giant Sept. 16. With the recent release of new albums by both artists, this was a perfect chance for fans to hear new favorite songs live.

Ra Ra Riot’s fourth and newest album “Need Your Light” made up the majority of their twelve12-song setlist. The indie band played with tons of energy, capturing the audience perfectly before Young The Giant’s set. Wes Miles, the band’s frontman, has a perfect voice for live performances; its delicate combination of soft and passionate timbres was a spectacle. The band did what many artists do, saving their best songs for last. “Water” and “Absolutely” paired together perfectly before the band closed with “I Need Your Light.”

Young the Giant took the stage and was pretty unconventional in choosing a setlist. Being that the band just released their third album, “Home of the Strange,” one would expect them to kick off the show with the lead song from that album. “Amerika,” the band’s lead single from the album wasn’t even played until the encore. Heck, during the show frontman Sameer Gadhia even admitted that encores sometimes feel obligatory. It begs the question, “Why plan for an encore if it feels more like a burden than a gift?” Give the fans everything they want during the show so that they don’t have to beg for “one more song” in hopes to hear the song that kicks off your new album.

Ultimately, I like the new Young the Giant album. It’s nothing spectacular compared to the band’s first album, but it’s an enjoyable listen with a new style. My main issue with the album is it feels unorganized. “Amerika” does not sound like a song that should kick off an album, the tracklist feels like the songs all exist on separate albums and the album is significantly shorter than any album the band has released before. I think the live show properly reflected the album, being that the setlist seemed to be in a random order. From the beginning the crowd never felt completely into the band. The most excited the crowd got was during the “obligatory” encore when the band played “My Body,” the band’s stellar 2011 hit. It was easily the best moment of the entire night.

My favorite song “Titus Was Born” was one of the only two songs off the new album that was omitted from the live show, but that’s understandable considering the song is one of the most mellow, aside from their popular song “Cough Syrup,” which admittedly was a perfect song to play in the middle of the show. One thing the band did a fantastic job with was the backdrop for their show. I was not a fan of the lighting choices the band showed off (dark colors, mostly) but the backdrop was an ambient, dynamic art piece that changed frequently between a starry sky, a blank canvas and the mountains featured in the album’s cover art.

Overall, Young the Giant did play a good show for anyone who is passionate about the new album. The older songs were mostly ignored, and the new songs were played in a random order that didn’t seem to motivate or energize the crowd. Young the Giant was good, not great, but definitely worth seeing if you didn’t mind buying a ticket to a sold out show to hear two songs you were passionate about 5 years ago.

Photo courtesy Marien Wilkinson

In my mind, there are “concerts” and there are “shows.” A concert may involve a band playing their most popular songs in front of a crowd. A show may involve a band performing their music with new twists. Many concerts follow the same format, whereas a show is dynamic — based on the venue, audience and atmosphere. Concerts are full of enjoyable music, yes, but shows are filled with so much more. Shows have magic, humor, audience interaction and ultimately are better performances than concerts. The first night of Radio 104.5’s Birthday Show definitely earned the “show” tag.

With Twenty One Pilots headlining the set, it was almost impossible to name the event anything but a show. The night was filled with incredible artists including Chef’Special, The Front Bottoms, Mutemath, Catfish and the Bottlemen, AWOLNATION and obviously Twenty One Pilots. Each band had something unique to offer for the thousands of fans at BB&T Pavilion on June 11. The Front Bottoms had their angsty, pre-pubescent, die hard fans, Mutemath had a drummer that honestly was one of the greatest spectacles of the night and AWOLNATION had that one song that made them popular. The main highlights of the night, however, came from Chef’Special, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Twenty One Pilots.

Chef’Special is a new, up-and-coming band. The Netherlands-based band has been touring with Twenty One Pilots on their “Emotional Roadshow” tour and made sure to stop in Camden for this show. Although the band has nothing but a four-song EP to their name, the band came out and played songs that were instant classics. Reggae-esque, Chef’Special came out to swoon the crowd with clever lyrics and passionate tunes. Their final song “In Your Arms” has just over 15 million plays on Spotify and has a very different style from most of their other songs. Though the popular song is mellow, folky and emotional, most of the band’s songs played at the show were catchy, reggae influenced songs with a lot of rap elements. The band ultimately put up one of the best performances of the night which justifies their touring with Twenty One Pilots.

Catfish and the Bottlemen released their second album “The Ride” May 27, just two weeks before the Birthday Show. Although their first album “The Balcony” was a major success in the UK, the US didn’t seem to vibe to the music as much. Opening with the first song from their first album, Catfish and the Bottlemen had fans rocking out to “Homesick,” a song with slick, seductive lyrics. The band didn’t play too long a set — only about 30 minutes or so — but made sure to capture their sound by playing their most popular songs “Kathleen” and “Cocoon.” Despite having just released a stellar new album, Catfish and the Bottlemen mostly played songs from their first album. Fortunately for their true fans, the band did play “Soundcheck,” the sequel-album’s lead single and “Twice,” a heartfelt song about second chances and regrets. Catfish and the Bottlemen will return to Philadelphia Oct. 21 and put on a live show that you won’t want to miss if you’re a fan of modern-aged rock and roll.

Twenty One Pilots is a band that has a cult following of mostly young teens. Although the band is one that most music-enthusiasts say they either love or hate, their live show is a show for absolutely everyone. Lead singer Tyler Joseph is a performer in the truest sense of the word. Between performing magic tricks on (and off) stage, doing backflips and crowd surfing in an inflatable hamster ball, it’s easy to forget how talented a musician Joseph is. Joseph’s talent pairs perfectly with his counterpart and best friend, drummer Josh Dun, who spent most of the show shirtless and at one point crowd surfed with his drum set, continuing to bang out beats while literally being supported by his fans.

The real reason that Twenty One Pilots are true performers is the way they play a live show. The band played favorites such as “Doubt,” which was dedicated to the recently deceased Christina Grimmie, “Migraine,” “Holding On To You,” and “Tear in My Heart.” To show off their artistic talent as performers, Twenty One Pilots invited the other performers from the night to play covers with them. Halfway through the show, Twenty One Pilots, along with MuteMath and Chef’Special, played several covers including “Twist and Shout,” “My Heart Will Go On,” “Jump Around” and Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.”

Twenty One Pilots put on an unforgettable show with a cast of performers handpicked and praised by Radio 104.5. The radio station turned 9 years old in May; here’s to hoping for more birthdays, more concerts and more incredible artists playing these stellar shows.  

The post Twenty One Pilots headline Radio 104.5 9th Birthday Show appeared first on The Triangle.

RAC performs at Union Transfers – Lizzy Lehn The Triangle

Pausing and awkwardly turning toward the audience, RAC frontman Andre Anjos said, “That’s the beauty of live music.” RAC drummer Jeff Brodsky must have accidently turned on a loop, because the percussion was pounding and bouncing all over the room and being played out of time. The members of the band turned in unison to look at their drummer as Brodsky tried to figure out what was happening. RAC still managed to finish playing the stellar remix of Odesza’s “Say My Name.” That is the beauty of live music.  And that is the beauty of how RAC puts on an implausibly good live shows.

When most bands play another artist’s song, it’s referred to as a cover. When RAC does it, there is no denying that it is a remix. RAC, an acronym for Remix Artist Collective, is Andre Anjos’ solo project. Originally beginning his career “remixing seriously” in college, Anjos wanted to create remixes that diverged from the typical loud music that traditionally was played in clubs. “It was pop music, it was stuff that I wanted to write,” Anjos told The Triangle in an interview.

“I wanted a new challenge… I think it was in 2011 that I got bored of remixes and wanted to do something different,” Anjos said. “I hit up Tegan and Sara, I hit up Bloc Party and Edward Sharpe and just tried to build it from there,” he continued.

In 2014, RAC released an album completely composed of originals entitled “Strangers,” partly named after all of the artists Anjos had collaborated with. “Working with all of those artists; they weren’t really people I had met before. I didn’t really know any of those people,” he said.

Between his original music and his remixes, Anjos took RAC on tour. Despite remixing, RAC plays together with a live band bringing his music to existence. The live band consists of Andre Anjos, his wife, Liz Anjos (also of Pink Feathers), Troupe Gammage (also of Speak), Jeff Brodsky (also of Yacht) and Karl Kling. Together, the live band takes away the DJ element of Anjos’ music and creates a lively, indie pop plethora of remixes and original music. Anjos told The Triangle, “It didn’t make sense to DJ songs live. Especially the slow songs, people would be like, ‘What is this?’”

After openers Pink Feathers, Filou, and Big Data played their sets, RAC as a whole took the stage, opening with a distinct remix of “Tongues” by Joywave. The crowd was ecstatic, clearly loving the funk-pop inspired remix. Most of the songs blended really well together, as they all have Anjos’ creative elegance. Transitioning from “Tongues” to his original “Ello Ello” then to Two Door Cinema Club’s “Something Good Can Work,” RAC played together flawlessly. Even more impressive was the band switching around on instruments, as Liz Anjos, Kling and Gammage switched around constantly between piano, bass and vocals. The band was completely in sync while frontman Andre Anjos laid down lively tunes on his guitar.

Most of the songs, despite being remixes, truly took on a life of their own when played in front of an audience. Anjos said this is because he wants his music “to be poppy but [not] to be stupid. I don’t want to add to the noise that plagues most of the pop music. I want to be better than that.” Paired with the beautiful LED lights behind the Union Transfer stage, RAC’s pop music was an exhibition. The set list included remixes of Foster the People’s “Houdini” and The Cranberries “Dreams.” Original Songs included “Hollywood,” “3AM,” “Repeating Motion,” “Cheap Sunglasses” and “One House,” which Gammage claimed during the show that he wrote about Philadelphia (do you say that to every city, Troup?).

“[Playing live is] actually my background.” Anjos said. “I always played in live bands… When RAC took off, I was suddenly a DJ. I missed the side of live performance, like, playing an instrument on stage. It’s a completely different kind of performance. I missed the instrumental connection with the audience where it’s more hands on and textile. There’s that more human element where you can mess up at any moment and it could sound horrible, like, the pressure is on.” It’s funny that Andre had even mentioned this to The Triangle before the show. The human element was absolutely on during his Nov. 9 performance, but Brodsky’s mess up did not sound horrible. The band played through it and demonstrated why live music is the best way to enjoy music. The RAC screwup sounded human; that is the beauty of live music.

The post RAC wows with incredible covers at Union Transfer appeared first on The Triangle.

Tame Impala — Oct. 5 at the Tower Theater

In 2015, Psychedelic rock group Tame Impala released “Currents” a follow up to their 2012 Rolling Stone Album of the Year “Lonerism.” Tame Impala is best known for their breakout hit, “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.”

Arkells — Oct. 10 at Milkboy

Arkells has had a relatively quiet 2015. After releasing the LP “High Noon” in 2014, the Canadian natives have seen their song “Leather Jacket” earn the top spot on the alternative Canadian charts.

Mac DeMarco — Oct. 13 at the Trocadero

“Another One,” released in August of 2015 is Mac DeMarco’s latest masterpiece. His indie-rock style is very unique, as heard in his album “Salad Days,” which peaked at number 30 on the weekly Billboard 200.

Smallpools — Oct. 16 at the Trocadero

A personal favorite of mine, Smallpools will be coming to Philly on their American Love tour. Smallpool’s is known for their song “Dreaming” which was featured in FIFA and earned the number one spot on The Hype Machine. Their album “LOVETAP!” was released earlier this year.

Timeflies — Oct. 17 at the Electric Factory

A rap duo from Boston, Timeflies is known for their YouTube covers and originals. Nearly every Tuesday, the duo releases new music to their YouTube channel, known as “Timeflies Tuesdays.” Their covers often include freestyling over popular songs like Frozen’s “Let It Go” and Kesha’s “Timber.” Despite this, the duo also has a trio of fantastic LPs, including “Just For Fun” released Sept. 18.

Disclosure — Oct. 19 at the Fillmore

This house duo is sure to put on a crazy show for all fans. “Caracal,” Disclosure’s second album, was released Sept. 25. The album has several songs featuring popular artists such as Sam Smith, Lorde and The Weeknd.

Chance The Rapper — Oct. 22 at the Electric Factory

After releasing several mixtapes, Chance the Rapper released his debut album in May 2015. “Surf” was released for free on iTunes and has been praised as one of the best albums of the year. Chance the Rapper has a very unique style, with influences from blues and jazz music.

The post Upcoming shows: Tame Impala, Mac DeMarco, Smallpools appeared first on The Triangle.

Twenty One Pilots
Shane O’Connor, the Triangle

A sold-out show at Festival Pier was Twenty One Pilots biggest Philadelphia show to date. After releasing three albums, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun began their sold-out, international tour of their 2015 album “Blurryface.” Although I felt “Blurryface” was a weak follow-up from the band’s 2013 album “Vessel,” I was not prepared for how much thought went into the duo’s show.

Opening for the “Schizoid Pop” group was California native band Finish Ticket and the sibling band Echosmith. Finish Ticket, having just released a new EP played a plethora of songs off of their first LP “Tears You Apart” before welcoming Echosmith, a band made popular by their songs “Cool Kid” and “Bright,” to the stage.

The set change between the openers and Twenty One Pilots took a long time, and it’s a good thing too. I’ve been to Festival Pier several times and I have never seen the venue as packed as I did on September 11. The long set change was warranted, as giant LED screens were wheeled on the stage. I realized, however, that Festival Pier was not a good venue for a band this popular, as the LED screens were honestly all I could see.

Though I couldn’t see the band, Twenty One Pilots came out to perform the song that kicks off “Blurryface.” After a percussion heavy intro, the show began as the duo plays “Heavydirtysoul.” The only major difference between the studio version of the song and the live version was the number of young, angsty teenagers singing along to the lyric “can you save my heavy dirty soul?” Blinding bright lights shot from the top of the stage and LED screens, blinding me and making my head pound to the rhythm of the song. It was honestly pretty cool looking back, but at the time, I was not really enjoying myself.

Flowing along into the next song, the audience began to sing along “Stressed Out.” The one part that stood out most about this song was the audience chanting, “My name’s blurryface and I care what you think.” It’s a pretty stupid lyric, but it sounds even stupider when an audience full of prepubescent fans start shouting it.

It felt like forever, but eventually the band started to play songs from the album that made me fall in love with them in the first place. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like the entire audience was more excited to hear songs from “Vessel” rather than the redundant tunes from “Blurryface.” Twenty One Pilots played through the scenic single “Guns for Hands” and the mighty melody of “Migraine” before playing one more song from “Blurryface.”

The first song I ever heard from Twenty One Pilots was “House of Gold,” and although its style is nothing like their other songs, I was in love with it the first time I heard it. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to hear it played. Unfortunately, the band only played through one verse and one chorus of the song before transitioning into yet another “Blurryface” song entitled “We Don’t Believe What’s on TV.” It’s a good song, but “House of Gold” is way better. This began the part of the show when I actually enjoyed being there.

“House of Gold” transitioned into “We Don’t Believe What’s on TV,” which transitioned into Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World,” which transitioned into Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” It was pretty cool, and really won me over after the pathetic start. The band played another favorite of mine, “The Judge,” and then a weird voice started speaking. I couldn’t hear what was said, but I heard the word temptation and then “Lane Boy” was played before the band continued onto the coolest part of the show.

A band like Twenty One Pilots has a lot of songs and therefore a lot of fan favorites. Many fans often go to shows and don’t get to hear their favorite songs. Twenty One Pilots worked hard to create a medley of six songs that pieced together almost perfectly. “The Pantaloon,” “Semi-Automatic,” “Screen” and “Ode to Sleep” were just a few of the songs that the band put together. Trust me, the whole crowd went ballistic and sang along with nearly every song they could. I wish more bands did stuff like this because it was stellar.

The band continued playing songs from the new album, but finished the show with the band’s two most popular singles: “Tear in My Heart” and “Car Radio.” The crowd was filled with energy at this point, so how could the band go on without an encore?

It’s almost redundant to call it an encore when the band plans to play an encore. Somewhere between playing “Goner,” one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard, and “Trees,” the band shot out tons of confetti. Once the confetti was in the air, the whole crowd moshed toward the stage for whatever reason, ending what I would call a surprisingly good concert.

The post Twenty One Pilots bring ‘Blurryface’ tour to sold-out Festival Pier appeared first on The Triangle.

After opening for Twenty One Pilots in front of a sold-out crowd, you would think the California band Finish Ticket would be ready to call it a night and go to bed. Instead, you walk through the exit of the packed Festival Pier venue and see a group of five music lovers, goofing off next to an ice cream truck, who are excited to meet and take pictures with their fans. Honestly, I wouldn’t expect this from every band, but after having the chance to sit down and talk with the guys of Finish Ticket, I could tell that playing music for their fans is their whole life. I asked if this had been their dream growing up and in unison, all five members of the band smiled, nodded and said “yes.”

Finish Ticket is made up of: Alex DiDonato, the guitarist; Brendan Hoye, the singer; Gabe Stein, the drummer; Michael Hoye, the bassist; and Nick Stein, the keyboardist. The band started at age 12 with Brendan and his “twin brother” Michael, who transitioned from clarinet to bass. Brendan said “I wrote my first song right away and said ‘I’m starting a band!” From there, it’s been history. Finish Ticket has been around since 2008 and has seen a plethora of different band members, but the current lineup has been around for about 2 years.

In 2013, the band released a debut LP entitled “Tears You Apart.” “[The writing] was all over the place for that one,” Brendon recalled.

“A lot of it started when we were in college. After high school we all separated and went to college. Like, ‘Bring the Rain’ is about college. It’s about starting a new life and not really wanting to and this whole life I wasn’t ready for. I felt like this whole wall was coming down in front of me. The one lyric ‘A hunt for your place in this world you know, it birthed you, it molds you, it tears you apart’ is talking about finding your place in this world, feeling super lost and not knowing where you sit in this world. There’s this feeling and you’re basically torn apart by it. That’s one of my favorite lyrics on the last record,” he said.

After the band expressed their agreement, Brendan continued, “We play to a lot of colleges and it’s funny because they’re all going through this thing. They’re all experiencing this right now.” All in all, the band said they were happy with how the first record came out and wouldn’t make any changes to it. “It was really genuine, it was who we were without any pressure. That’s just who we were,” he said.

On September 4 of this year, the band released a new EP, “When Night Becomes Day.” “[We’ve been] working on it a while.” the band said. “We didn’t have time to finish it because we started a european tour. We went home after that tour and we had to redo a lot of it in the bay area. It was a really long process.” We talked about the title track on the EP, where the band acknowledges it went through a lot of changes before sounding how it does now. “The plan is to do a record soon. We don’t know the exact timeline but we have a window after this tour, which means we all have to be creative on the road, which is tough. We’ll see what happens.”

So how has the writing process been different from the first album? The band said that “the process has been crazier because with ‘Tears You Apart’ there were no standards or time frame. We were kids and we literally left [college] to do it. We didn’t know what we were doing, but we knew we wanted to do music. We ended up putting a record together and loving it.” Brendan added, “Now we know there are people who have expectations and are waiting to hear new stuff.”

After a successful debut LP and fantastic follow-up EP, I asked the guys what their secret formula was. “I tell everyone, if you think you have a good thing going, get in front of everyone you possibly can. Any show you’re offered, just go after it. Get yourself out there. You have to create a demand,” Brendan said.

To finish the interview, I asked the guys why readers of The Triangle should check them out. “We try to write about stuff that’s generally relatable and not just about love, but what people our age go through. We find a different way to be relatable and find a cool way to relate to our fans. Another thing is, we pride ourselves on our live shows. So check out our music, come see us and then judge for yourself.”

The post California band Finish Ticket discusses touring with Twenty One Pilots appeared first on The Triangle.

The post Fall concert previews appeared first on The Triangle.

Photo courtesy PALMAS

On a rainy summer day, I found myself walking to a bar placed in an empty lot. Ortlieb’s Lounge, a bar no more than 40 feet wide, was full of people. A small sign hung on the wall with big red letters, “Capacity 55.” Past the bar were big doors, and through those big doors was the smallest stage I have ever seen. The concert venue, smaller than my kitchen, filled up June 27 to see a fantastic modern-day Beach Boys, PALMAS (formerly known as Locals) carved out a reputation for themselves at Ortlieb’s Lounge.

The show started with a New Jersey band, Betona. Using a loop machine, the three-piece indie-folk band strung out moody melodies. Interacting with the audience, Betona made humorous, playful comments that ultimately won me over. At one point, one of the members from PALMAS came up to play a song with them. The acoustic folk sounds swept the air and not a soul in that room could deny how talented Betona was. Before the band left the stage, the crowd applauded as Betona shared that this was their first show. Absolutely incredible. I couldn’t find any released music from the band, but their style, poise and smiles pieced together an intimate show to warm up the venue. Betona really impressed me.

The next artist, Little Strike, was a bit bizarre. Little Strike, a one-person electronic artist, played some very interesting sounds. All in all, she seemed very talented. Her vocals overlapped with the percussion and soft sounds perfectly, but the style of her music wasn’t best to be enjoyed live. I would have much rather preferred to bundle up on a cold day, close my eyes and listen to her distinct style. Little Strike had a very friendly personality, but her performance just didn’t win me over like Betona’s did.

Once the openers had finished, the small venue felt like a party on Powelton Avenue. Packed from wall-to-wall, fans stood eagerly with a beer in hand to hear PALMAS. Without much interaction with the crowd, the band comfortably began playing their brand of indie-surfer rock music. A modern-day Beach Boys, PALMAS used indie sounds and stellar vocals to really jam out. The opening acts were relatively mellow, but by the time that PALMAS came out everyone in the crowd was ready to dance around and twist and shout. To describe the style of the band, I’d recommend imagining the surfer-rock style of the Beach Boys with Vampire Weekend guitar riffs and powerful male vocals. It was really unique stuff.

Their songs “San Francisco Bay” and “Ride the Wave” can be found on YouTube and SoundCloud respectively, but unfortunately this band has no officially released music. There wasn’t a single moment of the show I disliked, but my favorite part had to be the song “Without You.” The vocals paired perfectly with the percussion and guitar riffs with a catchy melody and remarkable choruses. Each song seamlessly played off of the energy from the previous song, and by the end of the set, the tiny venue was jam-packed with energy. This was not something I would expect from a relatively unknown band.

PALMAS claimed they weren’t prepared for an encore, but after several “one more song” chants, the band played halfway through a cover of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper before realizing they genuinely weren’t prepared for an encore. It was still a very animated set and had me smiling the whole way through.

This show was a pleasure to see. PALMAS will be releasing two singles July 17 and a debut EP in August. If you have the chance, check out their music. It’s absolutely perfect for the summer. I genuinely believe that PALMAS will be playing a venue with a capacity larger than 55 the next time I see them.

Editor’s note: PALMAS’s first single ‘Stay Away’ is now currently streaming on Spotify. You can listen to it here spoti.fi/1Dc2i0e. The music video for ‘Stay Away’ is currently on Youtube http://bit.ly/1K9qwgI

The post Philly’s own PALMAS rocks out at Ortlieb’s appeared first on The Triangle.